Hey, Hermione
by DeathEaterBride
Summary: AU, non magic. Hey kitten. How did you get my number Sirius? Swiped it from Harry's phone when he was sleeping. Up to going on an adventure?
1. Chapter 1

A/N

This idea popped into my head the other day and I hurriedly wrote it down before I could forget. This was inspired by "Pick", which I urge everyone to check out.

As Hermione Granger walked down the brightly lit main street, she squinted down at the bright display light of her phone. Sighing, she quickly scrolled until she found the contact listing of Ginny Weasley, using her thumb to work the touchscreen before bringing it up to her ear. While she waited for Ginny to pick up, she scanned the crowds in front of the venue hoping to catch a glimpse of her distinctive red head.

"Hermione! Where are you?" Ginny's voice blasted into her ear. "Christ Ron! Turn the music down, would you?"

"Hi Gin. I'm out front, where are you guys at? I don't see you."

"Sorry Mione, we're still on the way, we just picked up Harry, but we should be there soon." Ginny answered, an apologetic note to her tone. "Ronald set us back, he couldn't decide on which shirt to wear, the one with holes or the one with stains."

Hermione heard a noise of indignation, with a quieter muttering of "it doesn't have stains", before Ginny continued. "There should be an alley to the left of the building, we'll meet you in there by the back door. I got you a change of clothes, I'm so happy you finally agreed to come out with us."

"Considering that I skipped out on my study group for this, you owe me big time. What's so special about this show anyway? You were relentless," Hermione asked as she made her way through the gathering crowd to the alley Ginny had directed her to. The light was dimmer, and the noise of the fans waiting out front became slightly muffled.

"It's Harry's brother's band, you know that. It's their big break, we have to help Harry support them," Ginny exclaimed. "Ronald! You made a wrong turn! You should have just let Harry drive! I gotta go Hermione! We'll see you soon, just wait there for us. Harry has your ticket." With that, Ginny ended the call just as the back door opened and a man came out, fumbling in his pockets for a crumpled pack of cigarettes.

Hermione gave him a quick glance, and decided to busy herself checking her emails on her phone, vowing that she'd make her friends pay for leaving her waiting in this sketchy alley. After a few moments of listening to him trying to light his cigarette, she gave him another quick look, but unfortunately he noticed.

"Hey kitten, got a light?" He asked hopefully, gesturing to his unlit cigarette dangling from his fingers.

"Smoking will kill you, you know," she admonished as she rifled through her messenger bag. Finally snagging out a pack of matches, she flung them to him, and watched the flame light up his face. Chiseled face hidden under dark stubble, with his bright grey eyes and shaggy black hair, he looked like a model. She caught sight of a few tattoos on his hands and arms, and noticed the ripped up t-shirt and jeans he was wearing, along with the scuffed up black combat boots. ' _Great_ ,' she thought, ' _another punk rocker who thinks ruining clothes is fashionable.'_

"What doesn't kill you, and all that nonsense," he replied, stretching his arm out to hand her back the matches. Giving her a once over, he exhaled his lungful of smoke, and asked, "Going for the jail bait look, then?"

She felt her face flame, and mentally cursed Ginny for being late with her change of clothes. Her conservative school uniform clashed horribly with their surroundings. Pulling on the sleeves of her light blue blazer, she looked him in the eyes and willed her flushed cheeks to calm. "I was at school, my friends are bringing me a change of clothes. They should be here any minute."

He nodded thoughtfully while he puffed. "Beauxbaton? Your parents must be loaded."

"Scholarship, actually," was her clipped response.

"Oh, so scary smart then, huh? What do you want to do with your life then?" he inquired.

"I'm going to be a dentist." Her normal response, it was her parents dream anyway, for their only daughter to follow in their footsteps.

He looked at her through his smoke, and chuckled. "I didn't ask what you were going to do kitten, just what you wanted to do."

She glared at him. Fine, it's not like she going to see him ever again anyway. "I wanted to study literary science, or environmental studies."

He looked at him quizzically. "So how did you go from wanting to be a librarian or some kind of activist, to a dentist of all things? Let me guess, family business?"

"How'd you know it was a family business?" She questioned.

"I'll tell you a secret, my parents planned for me to be in politics," he whispered like a conspirator.

"And what happened to that?"

"I decided that I preferred doing what made me happy instead." He answered with a shrug.

"What was that then?"

"Talking to pretty girls like you, in a charming environment such as this," he replied with a wink and an opened armed gesture to the overflowing dumpster off to the side.

She snorted, "Such a gentleman. My name's Hermione by the way, you are?"

He answered quickly. "Let me take you out Hermione, show you the wonders of London."

"Aren't you a little old for me? I'm only 18." She replied, with a bit less confidence than before.

"Yeah? I'm 23, not much of a difference there. Granted, mentally, you're the older one, seems more like you'd be robbing the cradle, not me." He jokingly responded.

"So sorry, I don't think so. I have a boyfriend."

"Well, when you don't have one, come find me, yeah?"

"Hermione?" Ginny's voice echoed down the alley.

"Back here Gin!"

"I'll see you around kitten," and with one last wink, he disappeared back in the door.

The four friends pushed their way to the front of the stage just as the show was beginning. The band walked into the stage, and James Potter leaned into the mic.

"I'm James Potter and I play lead guitar. Behind me, Remus Lupin on drums! Over there, Peter Pettigrew is on bass! And finally, our back up guitar and lead singer, Sirius Black! Together, we're the Marauders!"

As they launched into their first song, Hermione's eyes stayed on Sirius. Her back alley mystery man. He was right, she could never see him as a politician. Suddenly, Ron's sweaty palm grabbed her hand and she felt instantly guilty for looking at another guy when her boyfriend was right next to her.

After a multitude of songs, James stepped back up to the mic. "We have one more song for you guys tonight, but first, we all want to give out a few shoutouts. Mine is to the lovely Lily Evans, who finally agreed to marry me!" Cheers erupted from the crowd.

"Shout out to my mum, she makes the best cookies!" was Peter's, causing the crowd to break out in laughter.

"Shout out to the wolves, nature's badasses!" Remus shouted, causing the crowd to go wild and growl.

"So tonight, I met this girl," Sirius started, and the crowd whooped. "I know you're in here tonight kitten, and I just wanted to let you know my offer still stands. Hey, Hermione."

' _Bloody hell,'_ Hermione thought as she felt Ron wrench his hand out of hers and began stalking off. She chased out after him, trying to shout explanations over the music. Harry and Ginny watched them go, and both turned and narrowed their eyes at one Sirius Black.


	2. Chapter 2

Once again, Hermione was waiting on Ginny. Granted, this time she was out front of a dress shop in broad daylight, but still. Feeling her phone buzz, she opened up her messages thinking it was Ginny.

 **Hey kitten.**

 _How did you get my number Sirius?_

 **Swiped it from Harry's phone when he was sleeping. Up to going** **on an adventure?**

 _I made plans to go shopping with Ginny for our prom dresses_.

 **What about later?**

 _Probably hanging out with Ron, you know, my boyfriend._

 **Right, him. So he's talking to you again.**

 _I still can't believe you did that. It took me two weeks to get him to talk to me again after that stunt you pulled_.

 **All I did was say hi to a pretty girl. Tell you what, ditch him and I'll be your prom date**.

 _Goodbye, Sirius._

"Mione!" Ginny yelled from a block away. "There you are, come on! Only a few weeks until prom, I can't believe you're graduating this year!"

That night, Ron picked Hermione up and took her to his favorite diner. It was the same date they've had every Saturday night since they started dating six months previously. After being seated, Ron declared he had to use the bathroom and waltzed away, oblivious to Hermione's crunched up nose in distaste to his rudeness. She pulled out her phone, and almost sighed at the amount of new messages she received.

 **Hey kitten, is that still a no for tonight?**

 **The lads and me are bored, want to help me ditch them?**

 **Still going out with Ron then?**

She rolled her eyes, she felt like she was almost being stalked by Sirius Black. Then, she saw a message from Harry.

 **I'm so sorry Mione. I don't know how, but my brother got me to tell him where you were going to be tonight. Don't be mad at me, I didn't mean to.**

She couldn't help herself, she felt the panic begin. _'I just got Ron to stop being mad about the concert. If Sirius shows up, he's not going to let it go. He's going to blame me, again_ ,' she thought to herself, desperately looking towards the restrooms, hoping Ron would appear and she could talk him into going somewhere else tonight.

Finally, she saw his red hair appear and started to feel relief that she could get out of this situation without a fight happening, when she heard the chime of the door and had a sinking feeling that she knew who was entering. Turning around in the booth, she saw the Marauders pour in the entrance, with a stricken looking Harry and Ginny following. Just as Ron reached the table to sit down, Sirius' voice called out, "Oh look guys! It's Hermione and Ron! I didn't know you two would be here."

 _'No, no, no,_ ' Hermione chanted in her head as she watched the group stroll over, Ginny throwing elbows to their sides to battle her way to the front in an attempt to slow their progress.

"Let's all sit together! Scoot over Hermione, I'll sit next to you," the dark hair terror declared. She looked across the table to her boyfriend with pleading eyes, just in time to see his face flush as bright as his hair.

She heard Harry and Ginny softly curse under their breath as they recognized the warning signs of Ron's temper flaring, but the rest of the group were either oblivious or didn't care.

"Really, Hermione? I see how it is, I'm done. I would say find yourself another date for your dance, but it seems you already did that, huh?" Ron was shouting, causing a scene that was beyond mortifying to her. She tried to sink lower into her seat, on the border of wanting to disappear from the attention and wanting to shout right back at him that, yet again, it wasn't her fault.

Before she got a chance, he began storming away, but not before throwing over his shoulder, "I'll still see you there, I'll be going with Lavender. Me and her have been talking the last few weeks, didn't you know?"

The enter diner watched him leave, before turning back to look at her.

Hermione had enough. "Thank you Sirius! Once again, you disregarded my wishes and tried to butt your way into my life! Just leave me alone!" With that, she ran from the table, and out the front door, Ginny only half a step behind her.

Harry looked at his brother and his friends, opened and shut his mouth a few times, before deciding on just shaking his head and following the girls out. The Marauders looked at each other, and all shrugged while they occupied the vacated table. Sirius leaned his elbows on the table and let his gaze settle on James. "So Prongs, seems like we're back into planning on getting a girl to fall in love. Now that you finally got Evans, got any advice for me?" James' eyes lit up, and he started divulging all his trials and errors in getting Lily Evans to date him.

Beauxbaton Academy was a prestigious all girls school. They only time males (other than staff members) were invited to functions was for their end of the year dances, and tonight's upper year prom was one of those times.

The school rented a ballroom in the heart of the city, and booked a classical string ensemble for the entertainment. Alumni were in attendance, along with a handful of important figures of society. Hermione should have been looking forward to this night, and a week ago she would have been. Now, she was attending solo, while her now ex boyfriend would be going with a classmate that had previously tormented her, Lavender Brown. There was no option to skip out on going, the school made mandatory attendance a graduation requirement. As she zipped up her dress, and slipped on her shoes, she got mentally ready to travel to Harry's house, where she was meeting Ginny, who finally got Harry to agree to be her date. Lily Evans was an alumni of the school, who received an invitation this year, and was bringing Harry's brother James with her.

Pulling up to the house, Hermione paid the cab driver and carefully climbed the front steps, minding the heels she let Ginny talk her into for the night.

"Hermione, you look great! I'm so happy you decided to get the silver dress!" Ginny rushed over to kiss her cheek, the green of her own dress contrasting brilliantly with her hair.

"You too, Ginny. You as well Lily, both of you look lovely in green." She replied, then finally looked over to the Potter brothers. "You two, it seemed you finally managed to tame your hair."

Both men grimaced, both identically reaching up to touch their permanently messy hair that was gelled and combed into submission for the evening.

Harry moved forward and kissed Hermione's cheek in greeting. "We're almost ready. Just waiting on one more person."

"Who?" She inquired.

"Now don't be mad," Harry began, but Ginny cut him off. "Let me handle this. Hermione, you need a date. That brother of mine is an ass, but he was right about one thing, you can't show up alone. Not in front of all those catty bitches. Just don't say no, he already promised to be on his best behavior."

"Please tell me it isn't Cormac. You guys know what he was like last year, I can't spend another evening evading him."

"Who's Cormac? And why do I suddenly have an urge to punch him in the face?" Asked a new voice to the room. Hermione spun around and found Sirius Black in the doorway, face cleanly shaved, and hair tied back. Wearing a tux, he looked like a perfect upper society gentleman, not at all like his normal appearance of a punk musician.

"No," she declared, turning to glare at her friends. "I'd rather go alone."

"Now kitten, I got you into this mess, it's my duty to give you a solution out of it."

She spun back to him, and jabbed a finger into his direction. "You probably planned all this. The way you've been trying to meddle your way into my life, it wouldn't surprise me."

Sirius looked to the two couples in the room. "Can I talk to Hermione for a minute alone? I think the limo is here, we'll meet you down there." He waited for them clear out before he turned to her again. "Listen, I wanted to apologize. I didn't plan on anything. I've been told before that I don't have a filter, and I need to think about consequences before my actions. But I met you, and you had no clue who I was, and you just intrigued me. Tonight doesn't have to be a date, we could just be friends. Just give me a chance. Please?"

"Fine. Let's just go and get this over with." As she stalked out of the room, Sirius did a fist pump.

An hour later, all Hermione could see was Ron's tongue down Lavender's throat, the two only taking a break so Lavender could throw smug looks at Hermione.

She leaned over and whispered in Sirius' ear, "I need a drink." He never heard anything more perfect in his life.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**

 **I had to keep reminding myself to stay light and fluffy for this story. Time keeps hopping along at a brisk pace in this little alternate universe, mostly because if I start writing out every detail, I'll start getting off track. But... this chapter is the midway point to where everything will end up, plus Remus, because I love Remus.**

Everything hurt. Her head felt like it would explode, there was a bone deep pain around her left collar bone, and the right side of her body was awash with too much heat. Hermione managed to crack open one eye and found herself face down in a pillow. Attempting to sit up proved fruitless, and she allowed herself to plop back down with a groan. Suddenly, the heat source on her right shifted and she let out a shriek.

"Bloody hell! Not so loud, woman! I think I'm dying." The voice of Sirius Black. Of course. Hermione let out another groan as she managed to flip herself around. She tried to glare at him but failed in her current condition.

"You aren't dying. You're just hungover." She managed to get out.

"By the sounds of it, so are you kitten."

Peeking her eyes open again, she managed to figure out they were in a bedroom, but for the life of her couldn't recollect how she got there. "What happened last night? And where are we now? Why can I only remember bits and pieces?"

"Too many questions, go back to sleep."

Finally she realized what she was wearing; a black The Marauders shirt that was too big, with just her knickers underneath. She clutched the blanket closer to herself and managed to control her breathing. "Sirius Black, why am I naked?!"

At her question, he finally woke up a bit and yanked the covers up to peer underneath, ignoring her scowling. "You're not naked. I got all excited over that."

"Tell me what happened!"

"Fine!" He huffed. "But then I'm going back to bed, I feel like I got hit by a bus. We were at that stupid dance, and I was being all proper, mind you, then that ginger kept making a spectacle and egging you on. Finally, you decided that getting drunk was the answer, and I wholeheartedly agreed. After that, things get a bit blurry, but you finally let me take you out on an adventure, and we ended back at my place and you were half passed out but wouldn't go to bed without changing, and all you managed to grab was that shirt. Can I go to sleep now?"

"Where's the loo?"

"Down the hall. Moony is here somewhere, just knock before you open, yeah?" Then he buried himself back in the blankets.

Hermione managed to jerk the sheet off of him to wrap around herself and wobbly made her way to the bathroom. Pausing long enough to make sure Remus wasn't inside, she locked herself in and took a look in the mirror. Her hair had sprung free of her updo and was tousled everywhere, much worse than her normal bed head. She managed to rummage around until she found a washcloth and proceeded to scrub the smeared make up off her face. Finally, unable to ignore the burning on her chest any longer, she yanked the collar of the shirt to the side, revealing a very recent recent tattoo.

She couldn't help herself, she screamed. There was a flurry of movement in the flat then. A door flew open into a wall, a thud of someone falling out of bed, two sets of feet thundering down the hall, then a series of bangs on the door. Hermione ignored it all. There, on her chest, in elegant script, the name Sirius was permanently marked onto her body.

After very little debating, the two guys outside managed to break down the locked door. When they rushed into the room to see what was wrong, Remus saw the tattoo first and bursted into laughter. Sirius was still looking around wild eyed, and didn't realize the danger he was currently in as the brunette rounded on it. She marched the three steps it took to get in front of him, and straightened herself to her full height. Granted, Sirius was over a head and half taller than her, but he finally recognized the look in her eyes and managed to gulp. She briskly yanked down the collar again and ground out, "what in the bloody hell is this?"

Sirius swallowed deeply. Remus abandoned him in the bathroom, and was now leaned up against the hall wall, the fit of laughter taking his stability with it. Sirius pointed to his own collarbone, where an elaborate tattoo now decorated the left side. Hermione was written in flowing script, almost double the size of her own, with detailed flowers blooming around it. "I did mention we went on an adventure, didn't I?"

All he could remember after that was her shrieking "you arsehole!" as she repeatedly hit him in the chest, the pain flaring due to the healing tattoo. At one point he fell and ended up sitting on the toilet, yelling out, "bloody hell, woman! That really bloody hurts!" Suddenly, she stormed out of the bathroom, Remus diving out of the way. He got a quick glance of her grabbing a pair of sweatpants that were laying on the back of the couch before storming out of the flat.

Somewhat dazed, Sirius turned to Moony. "What the hell just happened?"

Remus shrugged. "I don't know mate. Nice ink by the way." Then he shuffled back down the hall, leaving Sirius to work out how his morning got so bad.

"It's not that bad Hermione," Ginny said, comforting her friend. "I mean, yeah, it's there, but it's pretty." At Hermione's glare, she changed tactics. "And it'll be really easy to hide. Just stay away from tank tops really. Nobody will know it's there."

"I guess so. I still want to kill him. An adventure? Matching tattoos is what he calls an adventure? That's the last time I ever go around Sirius Black."

Hermione's phone rang, and she quickly rejected the call. "That's nine times in the past hour. You'd think he'd give up by now."

"Really? He's been after you since that concert. I highly doubt you beating him bloody in his own bathroom is going to discourage him. Now come on, two weeks until you graduate. Time for school."


	4. Chapter 4

Harry's parents were throwing him a graduation party. She had to attend, he was one of her best friends. They met in primary school, and became fast friends after a dog was chasing her on the playground and Harry and Ron ran him off. They went their separate ways for secondary school, the boys attending Hogwarts, an exclusive private all boys school, while Hermione was offered a full scholarship to Beauxbaton, where Ginny Weasley ended up in the year below. Now she graduated, with honors, the top of her class, and her childhood best friend wanted to celebrate together. She was warned Ron was bringing Lavender to the party, not that she cared much, but her biggest concern was that Sirius would be there. The Marauders were planning on being the main entertainment that night, before handing it over to a DJ.

She enlisted the help of Ginny to cover her tattoo in make-up that she bought, and you could only tell it was there if you knew what you were looking for. Donning a simple thin strapped dress to combat the early summer heat of the day, she set out of for the Potter Home.

Instantly seeing Harry, she congratulated him, and he spun her around before also grabbing Ginny and twirling her too.

Sirius looked at her from across the room, his face full of confusion when he couldn't spot him own name on her shoulder. He absently rubbed his through his shirt. "You going to talk to her mate?" James, his best friend since he could toddle was by his side.

"Maybe later. She might even come to me, who knows?"

James clapped him on the shoulder. "Right, but we got a show to do. To the stage boys!" After they all situated themselves, he took to the mic like before, and introduced the band before they started their set.

Hermione watched Sirius. She watched the way his hair fell into his eyes, and the way he put all he had into the lyrics, his hands flying over the guitar strings. He watched her right back, a renewed sense of hope coming back to him when he noticed she wasn't glaring daggers at him.

James stepped back up to the mic. "Now, before the last song, let's do some shoutouts! Happy graduation to my baby brother! The world is your oyster mate!"

Peter was next. "Shout out to that wonderful looking cake over there! I can't wait until I can get some!"

"Shout out to all the endangered animals! May they continue to survive!" Remus called out.

"Hey, Hermione," Sirius said simply. He locked eyes with her in the crowd, and resolved to find her after the set.

Hermione stood in a corner of the large yard, silently watching as the last notes hung in the air. The party goers let out a cheer, just as the DJ seamlessly replaced the band. Her attention was diverted to the stage, watching The Marauders cover their instruments in tarps, and she didn't notice Ron beginning to stagger his way towards her. Seeing Sirius look out from the stage towards her, trying to catch her eye, she hastily turned away in an attempt to prolong her avoidance of him. Unfortunately, this led into her quite literally bumping into Ronald Weasley.

"Mione," he slurred, making her grimace at the smell of liquor on his breath. "I've been looking for you."

"What ever for Ronald? I seem to recall you saying something along the lines of being done with me." She began to turn away. Sirius saw where she was, and it was only a matter of time before he popped up, and she wanted to make a quick getaway before then.

Ron reached out and grabbed her arm, ignoring the indigent noise coming from her as he spun her around and wrapped her in an embrace. He leaned down and planted a sloppy kiss to her cheek. "Do you remember that promise you made me?"

She tried to squirm out of his hold, but the only effect she seemed to have was to make him sway slightly. "What promise? Let go of me!"

"Don't think so. How could you forget? You told me I could have you, after graduation. Here I am, Mione," he slurred. "Lav will understand. We can just sneak off and be back before she even notices."

Realization dawned on her. She promised Ron her virginity after graduation, back when they were in their relationship and she was trying to thwart his advances for the time being. "You prat. Let go of me now!" She struggled harder, not making much more progress than before. She was just about to raise her voice to call for help when she heard "Oi! Mate." Suddenly, Ronald was ripped off her and flung backwards, landing with an oomph. A squeal resonated in the air, and Lavender suddenly appeared. She was attempting to pull Ron up by herself, then started fluttering about while some of the guys came over to lend a hand. She glared at Hermione as she steered the stumbling Ron away, convinced she was trying to lure him back. Hermione snorted, then happened to glance over at her savior.

"Miss me kitten?" It was Sirius, winking eye and all.

"No," Hermione answered stoically.

"I'm hurt. Here I am, saving you from that buffoon, and I don't even get a simple thank you in return."

"I hardly needed saving," she began but was cut off. "Yeah, you did. I heard you telling him to get off, and he didn't look like he was about to listen. Wanna tell me what was going on?"

"Not really, it was none of your business." She turned away, even going as far as taking a step, before he caused her to pause.

"You're welcome. By the way, when did you get it removed?"

She spun around. "Get _what_ removed?"

"Me. My name, I mean. From your collar bone."

She gave him a confused look, then glanced down at her chest. Realization dawned. "Oh, that. I didn't. I just have it covered up for today."

He beamed at her, all his perfect teeth on display. "Excellent." She rolled her eyes. "But I wanted to talk to you."

"You're talking now," she said, attempting to turn away again.

"We need to talk about our future."

She spun back around and briskly closed the few feet between them, finger already wagging at him. "We don't have a future. We don't have _anything_."

"Now, now," he casually brushed her finger to the side. "You'll be going off to university soon, and I figured I better ask your permission to work on my career while you're gone."

"For you to go away? You most definitely have my blessing."

"Well that was easy. We're actually leaving tomorrow. America is far and everything, but the studio they booked us to record in is apparently top notch," he let out, excitement in his voice.

"Well, have fun. Don't rush back or anything." With that, she scurried away once more.

"Don't worry kitten, I'll keep in touch!" Sirius yelled after her retreating back. Then, muttering to himself, "She'll come around one day."

 **A/N**

 **So, I might still be holding a small grudge against Ron for leaving them on their "camping trip".**


	5. Chapter 5

Hermione excelled in her classes. After a long and careful discussion with her parents, it was decided that Hermione could do a lot more good in life with a degree in environmental science than dentistry. She refused to acknowledge the fact that if it wasn't for her meeting Sirius, she would have never started that particular conversation with her family. Harry came to visit her campus regularly, especially after she stopped berating him over his choice to skip out on the rest of his education in favor of taking an offer to play on a professional football team straight out of Hogwarts.

On this particular weekend, he showed up to her dorm with a cardboard box that he unceremoniously dropped on her desk. "It's yours," was all he would say when she inquired about it.

As she lifted the flap, she was expecting maybe some books or sweaters she left at his parents house over the years, but instead found it stuffed full of souvenirs from various American cities and Marauders memorabilia. "Sirius sent it to you. Well, he was sending it to me since you made me promise not to tell him your address. I did promise him that you would receive it though."

"Why would he send all this? I haven't talked to him in almost a year." She asked as she shifted the items in the box, pulling out a photo of the band in front of the Philadelphia Art Museum. _Thought you might want to visit here someday_ was scrawled onto the back.

"Mione, he told you why he was leaving, right?" Harry asked, watching her study the picture.

"Yeah, some rubbish about a studio or something. I just thought he finally got the hint."

"I don't think so. Every time my brother calls, he jumps on the line and asks about you. The band got signed, they released an album and everything. You can't turn on the radio without hearing one of their songs," Harry explained.

"You know I don't listen to the radio. I've been studying, my finals are almost here you know, and good grades are more important than cheap entertainment," she lectured.

"You really don't know?" Harry asked unbelievably. He reached over her desk and snatched her laptop, pulling up a search and typing in 'Hey, Hermione'. A plethora of videos and articles popped up, and he clicked the first result. A video started, of The Marauders at a packed concert, doing their traditional shout outs. Sirius simply said, "Hey, Hermione" before the video cut out. Harry clicked the next one, and the only difference was it was another venue, bigger and more packed before. Another, and another. All the articles speculated on who exactly was Hermione, and how Sirius Black was linked to her.

Hermione plopped down. She scrolled quickly through all the articles, Sirius' voice looping through her head. Her name, over and over. Photos of him bare chested, proudly displaying her name tattooed on himself. Articles about how he shunned groupie after groupie. About how popular the band became, how they were already recording a follow up album.

She sat in silence, long after Harry kissed the top of her head and left. Long after the battery died on her laptop, after the sun set. Thinking about how they first met, and how he inadvertently gave her the courage to persue the career she wanted; how he weaseled his way into her date with Ron, and saved her from what she now saw as a doomed relationship; how he never gave up hope that one day she'd finally realize that he didn't be actually ruin her life, but gave her her freedom back. Finally, she pulled out her phone and opened her texts.

It only took two years to get her degree. Two years of double booking classes and studying until her eyesight went blurry. After Harry opened her eyes to the fact that Sirius Black was still waiting for her, Hermione finally decided to give him a chance.

Texts, emails, video calls, and packages full of shirts, souvenirs, and photos that showed up monthly at her door. The band was releasing a third album when she graduated university. They hadn't seen each other in person since she blew him off at Harry's party, and now she understood what he knew all along, and felt guilty for making him wait for so long.

Now she was in Ginny's apartment, allowing herself to be made over into a punk princess. The Marauders flew into London that morning, for a concert in their home city. James had sent Harry an envelope stuffed with tickets, on the condition that he made sure Hermione was there with him. As Ginny was putting the finishing touches on her own makeup, she gave Hermione a final once over. "Perfect, it's just like in the movie Grease, at the end when Sandy turns into a greaser chick to get Danny. Except, you know, more safety pins."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh. Ginny was right, she was shoved into tight black pants, red lipstick and dark eyeliner, with boots laced up to the knees. The tank top she was wearing predominantly displayed her tattoo, which she knew Sirius would be happy to see.

Her stomach fluttered nervously the whole ride to the venue, where they once again pushed to the stage. It was deja vu all over again, especially with Ron right next to her, except his hand was no longer reaching for hers, instead firmly holding onto Lavender. They all grew up, and put aside the pettiness, instead holding onto the years of friendship they had beforehand.

As the band made their way on stage, Hermione's eyes stayed glued on Sirius, waiting impatiently while he found her in the crowd. His face lit up, and he sent her a wink while James introduced them to the fans. They remained their eye contact throughout the songs, and her stomach still fluttered.

Finally, it was time for their traditional shout outs. James, Remus, and Peter all just simply said, "Hey, Hermione", causing the crowd to whip into a frenzy over what was happening. Sirius took off his guitar before reaching for the mic.

"At our first concert, I met this girl," he began. "She was the most mesmerizing person I had ever met. I chased her for years. Years. Never gave up hope, ya know? And now she's here, and I finally want you all to meet her."

A security guard popped out of the crowd in front of her, and offered her his hand. She grabbed it and was pulled out of the crowd and was hoisted up onto the stage, right in front of Sirius. "Everyone, this is Hermione." The crowd roared. When they finally quieted down, he grabbed the mic one more time. "Are you finally ready kitten?"

She licked her lips before momentarily sucking the bottom one between her teeth. Finally, she leaned towards the mic herself and simply stated "Yes."

The crowd roared again as Sirius finally kissed the girl he was chasing.

 **A/N**

 **Whelp, that's it. I thought this was the perfect place to end this story, because honestly, a relationship between Sirius and Hermione (especially with their cannon characters in mind), would be full of lots of drama, fights, and of course some low degree pettiness. For the record, they would be one of my top favorite couples, but going in depth just wouldn't fit the tone of this story. Hopefully in the future I'll envision a grittier version that I can travel a twisted path with.**

 **Thank you all for reading and I hope everyone enjoyed!**


End file.
